Heat-treating furnace



March 4, 1947.

Y. R. CORNELIUS HEAT TREATING FURNACE 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 1, 1943 YNGVE R. CORNELIIU INVENTOR ATTORNEY 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Y. R. CORNELIUS HEAT TREATING FURNACE Filed May 1, 1943 o o @T O I 'O lNVENTOR ATTORNEY ililu.

March 4, 1947.

March 1947. Y. R. CORNELIUS HEAT TREATING FURNACE Filed May 1, 1945 Sheets-Sheet 4 YNGVE R. CORNELIUS INVENTOR ATT'ORNEY Patented Mar. 4, 1947 UNITED STATES I PATENT OFFICE 12 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to heat treating furnaces and, more particularly, to those of the type which are suitable for calcining of lime.- stone, reduction, roasting and sintering of various ores, reduction of calcium sulphate, treatment of clays and the like processes.

In heat treating various granular raw materials, such as ores, it is desirable to spread the raw material in a relatively thin layer upon a hearth surface in order that in the treating process certain gases may escape readily therefrom or be acted upon by either reducing or oxidizing gases, as the case might be, which are circulated thereabove. Certain types of furnaces have been proposed in which the raw material is fed upon one end of an elongated hearth and caused to travel therealong in a relatively thin layer either expensive to maintain. Furthermore; all of the above types of heat treating furnaces have one very undesirable feature in common, namely, that in the operation thereof the mixed charge is segregated. The components of the charge usually have widely differing values of specific gravity and any movement as by vibration, rotation or on an inclined surface by gravity will result in segregation of' the materials, which, in turn, retards the process or, in many cases, interrupts the process entirely. v

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved furnace which is particularly suitable for heat treating granular raw materials in relatively thin layers economically and efiiciently.

A further object of the invention is to provide a furnace having a flat hearth. of relatively large surface area with a new and improved arrangement for feeding the raw material onto one end of the hearth and for spreading and removing successive batches. of the material relative to the hearth surface.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a heat treating furnace having preliminary and final heat treating chambers, the final treatingv chamber having a stationary hearth therein, and means for transferrin successive batches of mixed raw material from the preliminary heat treating chamber to the final heat treating chamber and for spreading such batches over the surface of the hearth, without resulting in substantial segregation of the components of the mixed charge.

In accordance with one form of the invention a furnace is provided which includes a heating chamber having arranged in the lower portion thereof a receptacle containing a molten bath. of, a material having a suitable electrical conductivity serving as a source of heat. The molten condition of the bath is maintained by electric current passed therethrough, the processing temperature forthe furnace being controlled by regulation of the current flow. A relatively large rectangular plate is supported by the furnace Wall's above the source of heat forming a hearth surface upon which the. raw. material to be heat processed is spread. A spreader is slidably mounted upon the upper surface of the hearth and is adapted to be reciprocated longitudinally of the hearthby suitable operating. means connected, thereto. The spreader is adapted to be. filled by successive batches of raw material fed thereinto through a charging port extending through the roof of the furnace at one end there of. The spreader is so constructed that the con tents thereof can be spread over the hearth. sur face. inv a. layer of a desired depthof' substantially uniform thickness. Before spreading each successive batch of raw material over the. hearth. the. previously laid layer which has been treated for a sufficient length of time for conversion into the final product is first scraped from the hearth surface and depositedin a discharge chamber at one end of the furnace.

For a consideration of what is believed novel.

and inventive the attention is directed to the fol-- lowing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings while the features of novelty will be pointed outwith greater particularity in the appended claims.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a longitudinal, vertical cross-sectional view of the furnace; Fig. 2 is a 3 device incorporated in the furnace shown in Fig. 1 and illustrating in greater detail certain features thereof; Fig. 8 is a fragmentary view corresponding to Fig. 7, but illustrating the raw material spreader in a second limit position; Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a second modification of a spreader device, and Fig. 10 is i a perspective view of the device of Fig. 9.

The features of the present invention will be i described as embodied in a complete furnace structure, particularly adapted for heat treating oxide ores, such as reducing iron ore to metallic sponge iron. While the present invention will v be described in connection with such a particular" embodiment thereof, it will readily be understood by those skilled in the art that it is not necessarily so limited in that it may be used in furnaces more particularly adapted for heat treating various other ores or raw material.

Referring to the drawings, the furnace is of a generally rectangular construction and is comprised of a bottom wall I2, opposite side walls l3 and M, and end walls l5 and it, of a suitable surface above the heating chamber I 'l'upon which the raw material to be heat treated is spread and rendered into the final product. In this instance, 7 the hearth surface is formed by a relatively large rectangular, cast nickel-iron plate 26 which is supported at its opposite ends upon the top of the end walls 15 and i6 while its opposite side edges rest upon ledges formed in the side walls [3 and ill, The mid-section of the hearth plate 26 is supported by a pairof transversely extending arches 27 and 28 anchored at their opposite ends in the side walls. The underneath surface areas of the hearth plate not resting upon the walls Iii-i6; or the arches 2'1, 28, are exposed to heating by radiation from the surface ofthe molten bath'therebeneath. It will be observed refractory material defining'a heating chamber l1. These walls are surrounded by a metal casing IS with spaces being provided therebetween which are filled with sand in order to improve the thermal emciency of the furnace structure.

The furnace is adapted to be electrically heated by current passed through a molten bath of material having a suitableelectrical conductivity provided between suitably spaced electrodes arranged in the side walls It and I i. For sake of greater clarity in the drawings, the molten bath material has been shown only in the views of Figs. 2, 5 and 6. The bottom wall I2, the side walls l3i4 and the end walls Lii6 define a rectangular receptacle in the lower portion of the heating chamber for containing the molten mass While a plurality of spaced electrodes 20 and 2! are provided in each of the opposite side walls [3 and i l. The electrodes 20 and 2! are' preferably formed of iron and present relatively large surface areas toward the interior of the chamber I? so that the current density, that is,

the load current per unit of electrode area in contact with the bath, will be sufficiently low to prevent melting thereof. 7 The electrodes, furthermore, have a relatively large mass in order that the heat will readily be conducted away from the face surfaces in contact with the molten mass and thus prevent substantial deterioration of the In the presently described embodiment the elec-.

trode arrangement is suitable for single phase operation, but it will be obvious that they may be otherwise arranged for three-phase or multi-.

phase electric current operation. The resistor material between the electrodes 20 and 2! may be silicate slag, sodium silicate, sodium aluminate; glass, or the like, which in the molten state is j, electrically conductive and forms a substantially I The depth of the molten mass is'preferably such that the electrodes indestructible heating element.

are completely covered.

suitable means are provideddefiningahearth that the plate 26 is relatively thick so that the heat will distribute substantially uniformly there.-

through and accumulate such a quantity'of heat 7 that newly spread charges are rapidly heated thereby to processing temperature.

.The roof 29 of the furnace is of an arch type construction and is relatively closely adjacent the upper surface of, the hearth plate 2% as shown more clearly in the transverse cross-sectional views, and defines a treating zone 3 above the.

hearth plate 23. g A number of passages indicated at 3! and 32 are formed in the, opposite .side wall I3 and le'between the arches 21 and 28 and between arch 21 and the end wall I5,which' extend around the edges of the plate ZB'permiting the circulation of convection heat currents from the heating bath around the opposite side edges of the hearth plate 26 into the treating zone 36. heats the arch roof 29 and which, in turn, radiates the heat downwardly toward the hearth surface. The hearth '26 is thus heated, from both below and above.

Raw material or ore isfed into the treating zone 39 through the hopper 3d whichisshown arranged above the left end of the furnace, as viewed in Fig. 1; The hopper in this instance comprises a rectangular bin having iniwardly sloping bottom plates 35 convergingtoward an elongated spout 35. The spout 36 projects downwardly and empties into a preheating chamber 38 defined by a refractory lined rectangular casing 39. The bottom wall of the refractory lining is tapered inwardly toward the edges of thecharging port 4! extending downwardly through the arch roof 29 of the furnace over the end of the hearth plate 26. The charging portAl is relatively narrow and elongatein horizontal crosssection and-extends transversely of the furnace.

The flow of material from the lower end of the 1 charging port Al is controlled by a pivoted gate 42 supported by trunnions 43 (see Fig. 5) rotatably mounted in suitable sockets arranged in the opposite side walls of the furnace structure beneath the chargingport. v The gate 42 is a rela-- tively heavy iron member and the axis of the trunnions 43 is slightly forwardofthe center of' gravity so that the gate is biased by'its own weight in a clockwise direction of rotation, as viewed in Fig. 1 onto the port closed position. In the port closed position the gate .42 will-prevent flow 'of raw material from port 4!, but is still spaced somewhat therefrom for reasons to be explained later. The gate is Provided with a depending arm portion 45 which is adapted to be engagedby the ore spreader 47 in its retracted-position 1 and goveid thereby to the tilted positionas shown in Th o e s reader 4. om risesa rigid. 1ne1e The heat rising from the chamber ll.

piece rectangular frame defining a bottomless compartment having a width corresponding sub-- stantially to that of the hearth plate 25. As shown more clearly in the perspective view of Fig. 7, the spreader includes a pair of opposite side walls 68, 49 and an end wall 5i and a forward wall 52 extending transversely intermediate the ends of the side walls. A plurality of stiffener ribs 53 extend between the rear and forward walls. The lower edge of the forward wall 52 is spaced a slight distance 56 above the lower edges of the side walls 48, 19 for reasons to be explained.

The spreader 4i rests directly upon the upper surface of the hearth plate 25 and is adapted to be moved longitudinally thereupon by a tubular actuating arm 55 loosely connected to the rear end of the spreader and which extends through a cooperating opening provided in the rear wall of the furnace in a plane substantially parallel with that of the hearth 26. )A suitable bushing 56 mounted on the exterior of the furnace casing is provided around the arm 55 for substantially sealing the opening through the furnace wall about the arm. Any suitable motor means may be connected to the arm 55 for reciprocating the spreader, such as the hydraulic cylinder 58, in which case the arm 55 comprises a plunger which is connected to the piston within the cylinder.

It will be observed that the opposite sides of the hearth plate 26 are provided with upstanding edge portions 62 which guide the movement of the spreader 4? upon the hearth surface. The width of the spreader is preferably slightly less than the width of the hearth plate between the upstanding edge portions 62 in order that no binc ing will occur therebetween upon movement of the spreader. The side Walls 39 of the spreader are preferably provided with longitudinal ribs 63 which will engage with the adjacent surfaces of the hearth edge portions, if at all, so that the spreader will not become fouled by material which might become lodged between the spreader and the hearth plate edges.

When the spreader is in the fully retracted position, as shown in Fig. 1, the rear wall portion 64 thereof engages with the depending arm 65 of the gate 12 to rock it about its trunnions to the tilted position as shown permittin flow of material from the preheating chamber 38 downwardly into the bottomless compartment of the spreader defined by the walls l852. As the compartment of the spreader becomes filled, the material will be backed up along the sloping surface of the gate and effectively prevent further flow from the discharge port 4 i By operation of the hydraulic cylinder 58 the spreader is first pushed to the forward end of the hearth plate 25 as shown in Fig. 8 in which position the transverse wall 52 of the spreader is just slightly back from the end of the hearth plate 26. The piston of the hydraulic cylinder is then reversed and the spreader returned to its initial position at the rear end of the hearth plate during which movement the batch contained in the compartment is spread out in a layer of substantially uniform depth over the surface of the hearth plate depending upon the spacing between the lowermost edge of the forward wall 45 of the spreader and the upper surface of the hearth plate.

Accumulation of material at the rearmost end of the hearth plate, behind the spreader 41, is prevented by the provision of a slot 59 communicating with a clean-out recess in the rear wall it of the furnace.

As the spreader is moved forwardly; uponthe hearth plate; the gate 33 rocks under itsown weight to a horizontal position as shownin Fig. 8, effectively shutting off the flow of raw material into the furnace. After the batch has beenemptiedfrom the spreader compartmentin the manner described, and the spreader returned to its initial position underneath the charging port, the gate 42 is rocked to the open position andthe compartment is again refilled.

After a predetermined period of time, depending upon the particular material being subjected to heat treatment upon the hearth 26, the actuating means 58 is again energized and the spreader again pushed forward upon the hearth 26. The previously spread layer of material is pushed forwardly ahead of the spreader and off of the forward edge of'the hearth plate as and into the discharge hopper 55 formed in the foremost end of the furnace. A suitable conveyor 65' may be provided beneath the hopper be for receiving the material discharged from the hearth and transport ing it therefrom. It will be obvious that in. the forward movement of the spreader ii the batch of raw material filling the. compartment thereof will effectively seal the space 59 beneath the lower edge of the transverse wall 52. so that the material will be eifectively scraped from the hearth surface as the spreader is mo-vedto the forward end of the hearth. The side walls 58, $9 of the spreader extending forwardly from the wall 52 will prevent the material being scraped up from wedging between. the sides of the spreader and the upstanding side edges S2' of the hearth plate, and also prevent the material from being forced up over the side edges of the hearth plate and spilled through passages 38, 32 down into the molten bath of the heating chamber. Due to some abnormal condition of operation of the spreader mechanism it may be possible for some of the material to be forced over the edge portions 62 of the hearth and drop down through the passages 3i and 32 into the heating chamber. Any such material will drop onto the ledges 68, 69 (see Fig. 2) formed in the side walls l3, l4 and may readily be cleaned therefrom through the horizontal clean-out tunnels 70, H extending to the outer shell and to which access. may be had through removable cover plates. It will be understood that if material of high electrical conductivity should fall down into the molten bath in considerable quantity a short circuit might be formed thereby between a pair of opposite electrodes. In order to minimize the possibility for such a short circuit being formed, a trough T3 is provided in the bottom of the bath basin extending the full length thereof. Thus even though a layer of metallic material should settle across the bottom of the basin, the continuity thereof will be broken, by the side walls of the trough l3.

In the event the furnace is to be used for reducing oxide ores, such as iron ore, as previously mentioned, a reducing atmosphere, such as car-; bon monoxide, is required to be circulated in contacting relation with the layer of ore spread upon the hearth 25. In the furnace of the present invention, such reducing atmosphere .is circulated in a closed system, that is, after it has picked up the oxygen from the ore, it is passed through a regenerator and then circulated in contact with the ore again. The oxidized gas is withdrawn frornthe furnace above the surface of the raw material contained within the preheating chamber 38. It will be observed that the spout 36 of bin 34 depends downwardly into the upper end of chamber 38 so that a free space exists about the spout 36 above the surface of'the raw material discharged therefrom. The gases escape from this space through the perforations M in the upper portion of the forward wall of the preheating chamber 38 and pass into an elongated box 75, extending transversely of the furnace, within which water vapor entrained with the gas condenses. The condensate' is drained oil through the sump 1B. Communicating with the box is a conduit 17 through which the gases are withdrawn by the suction of a blower [8 which blower in turn forces the gases through duct 19 into the end of the duct 8| extending through the rear wall of the furnace. of the furnace immediately behind the refractory liner forming the side wall M to a point opposite the forward wall l5. Communicating with the forward end of the duct 8! is a transversely extending header pipe 82, see Fig. 3, which extends through the forward wall throughout substantially the full width of the furnace heating chamber. A plurality of passages 83 communicating with corresponding openings provided in the pipe 82 extend'rearwardly through the wall 55 and into an arch 84 extending transversely of the heating chamber beneath the hearthplate 26. A plurality of relatively small holes extend upwardly from each of the respective passages 33 through the upper surface of the arch. A bed of carbonaceous material, such as charcoal or coke (not shown),

is to'be provided upon the upper surface of the arch 8'4 and through which the gas is forced.

The gas in flowing through the duct Bl lengthwise of the furnace and closely adjacent the highly heated refractory liner of the bath chamber is heated and as it is distributed from the header 82 into a relatively large number of small passages provided in the arch 84 which is closely adjacent the upper surface of the molten bath it is elevated to a still higher temperature correspondingsubstantially with that prevailing within the heating chamber. In filtering upwardly through the carbonaceous bed on the arch 8% the carbon dioxide content of the gas is reduced to carbon monoxide, and which passes upwardly through the passages 3|,

32 around the opposite edges of the hearth plate and over the layer of ore spread out upon the upper surface of the hearth.

The arch E l provided within the heating chamber, i! beneaththe hearth plate 26 and covered with carbonaceous material serves as a gas regenerator. The supply of carbonaceous material upon the arch 84 may be replenished; as desired through a pair of tunnels 19, ii extending transversely through the furnace side for effecting the final stage of the reduction,

process. The furnace described is particularly suitable for effecting such stepwise reduction The duct 8i runs longitudinally g r processes in that the final stage; may be carried out upon the hearth surface in the zone 30, while the preliminary stages may be carried out in the chamber 38.

The ore, first ground to a suitable fineness, may

be mixed with appropriate quantities of pulverized limestone and coke or charcoal and fed into the hopper 34 from which it will flow into the preliminary reduction chamber 38. The highly heated gas withdrawn from the final reduction zone 30 up through the charging port 4| by reason of the reduced pressure created above the surface of the material in the chamber 38 by the blower will effect substantial heating of the raw material therein. Carbon dioxide will be formed from the limestone, and which in turn will be reduced to" carbon monoxide upon contact with the'heated carbon included in the mixture. The carbon monoxide concentration and the degree of heating of the ore will be sufiicient for causing a preliminary reduction of the hematite to ferrous oxide, FeO, before it is introduced into the final reduction zone and during the time that a preceding batch spread upon the hearth surface is being reduced through the final stage from FeO to metallic Fe. r

The gas withdrawn from the preliminary reduction chamber 38 is returned to the'furna'ce through duct 8| and in passing throughthe ina high concentration of carbon monoxide may be maintained in the final reduction chamber so that the processing period can be shortened to the minimum.

It will be observed that the charging port' li communicating between the chambers Stand 33 is relatively narrow and long so that the gas being drawn from the chamber 39 upwardly into the chamber 38 will be distributed over a relatively large area. The paths of least resistance for the gas flow upwardly through the charging port 4 I, which is filled with a column of descending material, will lie next .to the surface of the 1 Walls defining the charging port rather than up through the central portion offlthe column of material. By reducing the cross sectional thickness of the column and by increasing the width of the wall area the ascending gas will be distributed so as to come in contact with a greater number individual particles of the ore. At the top of the charging port the gas will tend to diffuse with substantially uniform distribution throughout the greater mass in the chambered With the charging port and the preliminary reduction chamber of this construction a high degree of reduction, at least through the preliminary steps of the process, can be obtained in the chamber 38. An additional advantage derived from effecting partial reduction of the ore in a preliminary reduction chamber resides in the fact that it is relatively simple thus to maintain the high concentration of carbon monoxidein the gas in-the final reduction chamber whichisnecessary to effect complete reduction therein.

' ,A .further important feature of the furnace of the present invention consists in the arrangement whereby the ore, partially reduced in the preliminary reduction chamber, is deposited upon one end-of the hearth surface immediately adjacent the charging end where it remains throughout the period "that the previously spread layer of ore is undergoing final reduction. The incoming batch of ore fed into the compartment of the spreader GT is initiallyof a relatively low temperature and, if immediately spread over the hearth surface, would tend to chill it, but, inasmuch as the spreader is retained in the retracted position throughout the full period of time that the previousbatch is undergoing final reduction, it is heated to a-temperature corresponding substantially to that prevailing over the hearth surface. Spreading of each successive batch, which has been thus preheated, results in only a very slight drop in furnace temperature so that a high rate of production may be maintained. It is preferred that the compartment in the spreader -41 have a capacity corresponding substantially to two -or'-more layers over the hearth so that the newly added :charge will remain in the spreader for such a period as is required for it to reach a temperature as close to the processing temperature as possible.

By means of the novel arrangement herein provided for spreading'the successivebatches of material to be heat processed over the hearth surface and for positively removing the batches from the hearth surface upon completion of the processing the maintenance expense for the furnace is reduced to a minimum in that it may be operated for long periods of time without requiring reconditioning of the hearth surface orspreader mechanism. The spreader mechanism and charging port closure gate comprise a minimum number of working parts and which accordingly, may be made of rugged dimensions .so as to, be substantially indestructible.

With the spreader as described above .the ore is spread over the hearth surface upon withdrawal of the spreader from a position at the forward end of the hearth surface followin scraping of the previously spread layer therefrom. This is accomplished by providing a slight space underneath the forward transverse wall of the spreader unit. In the'modification of the spreader device illustrated in Figs. 9 and 10, spreading of the successive batches is accomplished during the forward movement of the spreader unit simultaneously with the scraping of the preceding layer from the'hearth surface, In this modification the spreader is substantially similar to that previously described except that the lowermost edge of the rear wall QI-isalso spaced somewhat above the lower edges of the side walls 92, 93. Forwardly of the wall 94 is pivotally mounted a flap 95, the lowermost edge of which, in the vertical position depends substantially to'the lowermost edge of the side walls 92, 93. With the compartment of this spreader unit filled, as it is advanced forwardly the flap 95 will hang inthe vertical position bearing against the wall 94, which acts as a stop, and scrape the previously laid layer from the hearth surface. Simultaneously the contents of the spreader compartment are spread over the hearth surface by escape through the slot under the rear Wall 9|. Upon the withdrawal of the spreader unit to the rear end of the hearthsur'face the flap 95 will pivot forwardly, as shown i-ndotted lines in Fig. 9, to pass over the newly spread layer. 'In order to 10 insure such forward pivotal movement of the flap 95 it may be desirable to provide one ormore lugs 96 extending rearwardly from the lowermost edge of the hinged flap 9.5 which, upon reverse movement of the spreader unit, will bear against the .hearth surface with increased frictional resistance so as forcibly toshift the flap outwardly relative to the wall 94.

A minimum of segregation .Of the mixed materials forming the charge will take place in the operation of the furnace as described. The'material moves with substantially vertical motion down through the hopper and the preliminary heat treating chamber into the spreader compartment. .It will be understood by those skilled in the art that materials of mixed grain size and density have a great tendency to segregate when moved over a long sloping surface or whenagitated, With the mechanical spreading arrangements disclosed, the successive batches are deposited evenly upon the hearth surface where they remain motionless throughout the ensuing final processing period.

In the case of reduction of iron ore to metallic sponge iron it is obvious that the final product should be cooled either in the lower end of the discharge chamber of the furnace or in the conveyor means out of contact with oxygen so as to prevent the re-oxidation thereof.

Having described the invention in What is considered to be an operative embodiment thereof,

it is desired that it be understood that the various specific details shown are merely illustrative and that the invention may be carried out by other means.

I claim:

1. A furnace comprising means defining a heat treating chamber, means defining a stationary hearth surface in said'c-hamber, spreader means slidably supported on said hearth surface, a charging chamber mounted above one end of said chamber, a port communicating between said chambers, a gate for controlling the flow of granular raw material through said port, means for reciprocating said spreader longitudinally of said hearth surface, said spreader engaging with said gate when moved to the corresponding end of said hearth surface and moving it to the open position whereby a batch of ore is discharged into said spreader, said gate moving to the closed position as said spreader is moved away from said port during spreading of the batch contents in said spreader over said hearth surface said gate inthe closed position permitting flow of reducing gas from said heat treating chamber to said charging chamber through the material in said port.

:2. A furnace comprising 'a heat treating chamber, means defining a stationary hearth surface in said chamber, spreader means having a bot- .tomless compartment slidably supported on said hearth surface, a charging chamber mounted above one end .of said reducing chamber, a port communicating between said chambers, a gate for controlling the flow of successive batches of raw material from said charging chamber through said @port into said spreader compartment, said spreader engaging with said gate for movingiit to the open position as said compartment is moved into receiving position relative to said port, said gate moving to the closed position as said spreader is moved away from said port for spreadingof the batch contents in said compartment over said hearth surface said gate :in the closed position permitting flow of reducing .gas

from. said reducing chamber to said charging chamber,

' 3. A heat treating furnace comprising a reducing chamber, means defining 'a stationary hearth surface in said chamber, a spreader slidably'supported on said hearthsurface, a charging chamber mounted above one end of said reducing chamber, a port communicating ,betweensaid chambers, a gate for controlling the flow of granular ,raw material through said port, means for reciprocating said spreader longitudinally of said hearth surface, said spreader engaging with said gate when moved to the corresponding end of said hearth surface and moving it to the open position whereby a batch of raw material is dischargedinto said spreader,

1 said gate moving to the closed position as said said chamber comprising a relatively long duct means extending through a wall of said receptacle parallel therewith and having an opening in said receptacle above the level of the molten mass therein, said duct being of such a length that the gas-passing therethrough' is heatedsubstantially to the temperature prevailing within 7 said chamber before emerging from said; open ing. 7 V a 7. A heat-treating furnace comprising a final treating chamber, a stationary flat surfaced hearth substantially horizontally arranged in 'said chamber, means for heating said chamber spreader is moved away from said port during spreading of the batch contents over said hearth surface, said gate in the closed position permit- 3 ting. flow cfreducing gas through said port,

municating between said chambers, a hopper" for feeding material into said preliminary heat treating chamber, said preliminary heat treat mg chamber being so arranged with respect to i said firstchamber that raw material fiows by gravity through said charging port, said hopperincluding'means for maintaining a prededetermin'ed level-0f material in said preliminary heat treating chamber, means provided on said hearth'for receiving successive batches of raw material from said charging port and depositing said batches in relatively thin layers over said hearth, means for controlling the flow of said raw material through said port, said last mentioned means being actuated automatically by,

said batch receiving means.

"5. A heat treating furnace comprising a chamber, a receptacle in the lower portion of said chamber, a mass of relatively non-oxidizing material insaidreceptacle maintained in a molten condition, a refractory arch defining the roof of said chamber above said receptacle, a relatively flat stationary hearth means supported between said receptacle and said roof for receiving thereupon a layer of rawmaterial to be heat processed, edges of said hearth means and the side walls of said chamber, the material on said hearth means being heated by conduction through said hearth means'and by radiation from said roof, means for introducing reducing gas into said 1 chamber over the surface of molten'material in' saidrecept'acle said gas being heated over said surface and then passing upwardly through said spaces."

GL A heat treating furnace comprisin .a chamber, a receptacle in the lower portion of said chamber containing a 'molten mass, hearth means in said chamber above said receptacle and heated by said-molten'mass, said hearth being adapted to receive successive batches of raw material, .means for introducing reducing gas into spaces between the opposite including said heartha preliminary heat-treating chamber arranged above 'said final heat treating chamber, a restricted passage communicating between said chambers, means for controlling the flow-of successive batches of raw material from said preliminary heat treating" chamber through said passage,meansfonrceiving said successive batches and spreading them over said hearth, means :for feeding raw material into said preliminary heat treating chambers and for'maintaining apredetermined level of raw material therein, a blower means, the intake of said blower means communicating with said preliminary heat treating chamber above the level of raw material therein whereby gas may be drawn from said final heat treating chamber through said passage and through the raw material contained in said preliminary heat treating chamber. 7 1

8. A heat treating furnace comprising a final treating chamber, a hearth arranged in said chamber for receivin granular raw material to be heat treated; heating means for said chamber including said hearth,;a preliminary heat treating chamber arranged above saidrfinal heat treating chamber, a passagecommunicating bC- tweensaid chambers, means for feeding raw ma-.

terial into said preliminary heat treating chamber and for maintaining a predetermined level of raw material therein, a blower means, the intake of said blower means communicating with said preliminary heat treating chamber above the level of raw material contained therein whereby gas is drawn from said final heat treating chamber through said passage, said passage be ing relatively narrow and of a length corresponding substantially to the maximum dimension of the bottom of said preliminary heat treating chamber. 7

9. A heattreating furnace comprisinga final heat treating chambena receptacle in the lower 7 portion of said chamber, a mass'of' relatively V non-oxidizing material in said receptacle maintained in a moltencondition, hearth means in said chamber fixedly supported above said receptacle for receiving successive charges of raw material, passages in said chamber extending around the opposite sides of said hearth, a preliminary heat treating chamber arrangedabove said final heat treating chamber, a charging passage communicating between said chambers, means for feeding raw. material into said. preliminary heat -treating chamber, means connected to said preliminary heat treating chamber for withdrawing spent gases from said final heat treating chamber through said charging passage and for regenerating said gases, and means for reintroducing said regenerated gases into said final treating chamber below said hearthimeans. 10. A heat treating furnace comprising a chamber, a receptacle in the lower portion of said chamber, a molten massof non-oxidizing mater;

rial in said receptacle, hearth means in said chamber supported above said receptacle, means for introducing reducing gas into said chamber above the surface of said molten mass below said hearth means and passages for said gas in said chamber extending around the opposite sides of said hearth and means for withdrawing said gas from said chamber above said hearth means.

11. A furnace comprising a heat treating chamber, means defining a relatively large rectangular hearth in said chamber, means for feeding successive batches of raw material into one end of said chamber, means for receiving suc cessive batches of treated material at the opposite end of said chamber, said hearth having upstanding edge portions along each of the opposite sides thereof, a rectangular spreader longitudinally slideable upon said hearth for receiving said batches at said one end of said chamber and for spreading said batches in a relatively thin layer over said hearth and for removing each of said layers from the opposite end of said hearth prior to the spreading of the next succeeding batch thereover, said spreader comprising a pair of opposite side Walls, an end wall and a forward wall in a rigid unitar relationship, said forward wall extending between said opposite side walls substantially midway between the opposite ends thereof, the lowermost edge of said forward wall being spaced aslight distance above the lower edge of said opposite side and rear walls, and a plurality of stiffening members extending between said rear and forward walls.

12. A furnace comprising a heat treating chamber, means defining a relatively large rectangular hearth in said chamber, means for feeding successive batches of raw material into one end of said chamber, means for receiving successive batches of treated material at the opposite end of said chamber, said hearth having upstanding edge portions along each of the opposite sides thereof, a rectangular spreader longitudinally slideable upon said hearth for receiving said batches at said one end of said chamber and for spreading said batches in a relatively thin layer over said hearth and for removing each of said layers from the opposite end of said hearth prior to the spreading of the next succeeding batch thereover, said spreader comprising a pair of opposite side walls, an end wall and a forward wall in a rigid unitary relationship, said forward wall extending between said opposite side walls sub stantially midway between the opposite ends thereof, the lowermost edge of said forward wall being spaced. a slight distance above the lower edge of said opposite side and rear walls, a plurality of stiffening members extending between said rear and forward walls, the distance be tween said opposite side walls being slightly less than the distance between said upstanding hearth edge portions and outwardly extending longitudinal ribs on each of the outer sides of said opposite side walls for slideably engaging said upstanding hearth edge portions.

YNGVE R. CORNELIUS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

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